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Serbian PM stresses importance of modernization of Budapest-Belgrade railway

Xinhua, July 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

The modernization of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line is of crucial importance, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban in Budapest on Wednesday after the Hungarian-Serbian government meeting.

Serbia and Hungary are committed to the realization of this project, as it connects Serbia with Central and Western Europe, and Hungary also has a better connection with Southeast Europe, Vucic said.

The Serbian prime minister mentioned that the ministers concerned and the expert committees from both countries would work together with Chinese partners on the feasibility study until July 16, 2015.

Belgrade has already started work on the construction plan, so the construction can begin before the end of this year, Vucic added.

Orban said that the construction of the Belgrade-Budapest railway line is "a most hopeful enterprise". The feasibility study shows that even the heaviest axle-weight trains will be able to travel on the new line, he added.

The project for the modernization of the Belgrade-Budapest railway was initially agreed on in 2013 at the China-Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries leaders' meeting in Bucharest.

The cooperation plan for its construction was signed in the beginning of this year in Belgrade at the meeting of the Trilateral Group of China, Hungary and Serbia for Traffic and Infrastructure Cooperation. According to the plan, the construction should begin by the end of 2015, after the feasibility study and financial model are agreed upon, with the railway scheduled to be fully completed in 2017. Endit